Family is What You Make It
by meganechan720
Summary: It turns out Raditz was not very careful about sowing his wild oats. Decades after his death, his children, having grown up on a pleasure planet, find themselves on the run with each other, and begin to form something like a family.


_A/N: Though this story is technically self-contained, it reads more like a prologue to a story that may or may not exist in the future. YMMV._

* * *

The rain obscured the skulking figure better than the raggedy cloak it had thrown over its head. Secretively it went, weaving and back-tracking through alleyways and along wide city streets. Beings from all across the galaxy rushed past, paying the figure no mind, most of them as engrossed in their own business as the figure was in its. Finally it approached a large palatial building, finer and cleaner than most of the surrounding structures. It looked around one last time, then entered. At the front desk it exchanged a few words and a few more coins with an elegantly attired woman, and was escorted to a bank of elevators by a waiting man, dressed in loose robes that left his shoulders bare. His skin was a light green, and his hair was a darker shade of the same color, soft and flowing. He led the cloaked figure into an opulent room that contained only a small table, two chairs, and a large bed covered in silk sheets. The figure brushed past the man and sank down on the mattress with a deep sigh.

"Well, my lady," the man said with a gently amused smile. "If you're that eager to begin..."

The figure waved a hand dismissively.

"No, I'm just here to lay low." The voice was feminine, but low and a bit rough. A hand reached back to pull the cloak down, revealing a woman with skin a shade of blue a bit darker blue than the man's green, with yellow hair in large ringlets around her face. She sat up. "Sorry."

"Whatever you desire, my lady," the man said, not sounding very disappointed. "Though if you don't mind me being nosy, this is a bit of an expensive place to merely be hiding out."

"Don't I know it," the woman sighed, flopping back down on the bed. "But this is the only place that will let me stay for multiple days and not ask questions."

"Who on earth are you hiding from?" the man inquired, curiosity evident. The woman studied him from her prone position on the bed, and the man, used to being the object of study but not of this nature, shifted uncomfortably. Eventually she closed her eyes.

"My baby daddy," she said evenly, "if you must know."

"Oh, my," the man breathed. "You poor dear. Let me order us some tea. Are you hungry? I can have them send up some food."

"Yes. Both would be perfect."

The food arrived, and the man sipped tea while the woman ate greedily. Eventually the food gave way to conversation and they introduced themselves.

"My name is Rafano," said the man, tucking an errant strand of baby-fine hair back behind his ear. He had a pleasant, open face, with a narrow nose and a high forehead mostly concealed behind long, flowing bangs. His hair just touched his bare shoulders, and though his manner and appearance were refined, careful study revealed hands just a bit too large to be called elegant, and a body a bit more heavily muscled than his profession really called for.

"Sati," said the woman. Her attire was simple, a kerchief serving to hold back the mass of curls on her head. The natural downturn of her eyebrows gave her a determined air, but her cheeks were round and full, and her mouth smiled easily, though the smile often tended toward the cynical.

"Do you think a few days will be enough?" Rafano asked.

"Not likely," Sati said resignedly, licking her fingers clean from a sticky tart. "The baby-daddy is Prince Rojuku."

Rafano's meticulously plucked eyebrows rose high, disappearing into his bangs. He set his teacup down on the saucer with a loud rattle.

"You're kidding," he breathed, glancing nervously at the door. "Are you sure he doesn't know you're here?"

"Pretty sure," Sati said breezily, taking another tart. "Not a big deal if he does. He just wanted me to get rid of the child, doesn't care about me one way or the other. He was gonna pay for it, but I pocketed the money and ran. If he finds me here I'll say I got cold feet, go quietly, slip away again when I can. No big."

Rafano stood, striding across the room to a small cupboard, from which he retrieved a large bottle, corked and sealed with wax. He broke the seal with a crack and poured some of the contents into his teacup, still half full of tea. Sati raised an eyebrow, a look he returned while downing the contents of his cup in one go.

"Want some?" he offered, and Sati gave him a quizzical glace.

"I'm pregnant?" she reminded him.

"Right. How?"

"You're the one who works here."

Rafano gave her a cool stare over a second teacup of liquor, and then chuckled.

"Fair. What I meant was, how did you come to dally with a prince?"

"I work at a casino he goes to. He liked the look of me, offered me money. I didn't say no. Checked on me a few months later. Should have used protection if he cared so much."

"You should have used some of your own," Rafano scolded, making Sati laugh.

"Figured I could milk him for more money if I ended up with his baby. Didn't think I'd..."

"Get attached?" Rafano supplied. "It happens."

Sati peered into her teacup, thoughtfulness softening her features.

"S'funny. Never knew my old man, mom died when I was small. Stepfather offered me a job but not a home. Thought I didn't care about family. But when they scanned it to make sure it was his and I saw the little fingers moving... I realized the only family I had in the universe was right there, and I just... couldn't."

She smiled wryly.

"So that's my story. Don't really know what I'll do next. Figure I should be good staying here for a few days."

"Of course," Rafano said, pouring himself another cup. "Let me go get you a change of clothes. You look like you've been in those for a while."

Sati nodded, and he stood, sauntering out of the room with one finger holding his teacup. He sipped it as he pulled a small device from inside his robe and studied it. It was a touching story, but the girl likely had a bounty on her by now, and it was worth it to at least see how much it was for. When he brought up the bounty on his device and saw the amount, he nearly choked on his mouthful of alcohol. There was no way some illegitimate baby could be worth that much, even to the power-hungry Modela clan. He scrolled through the description of the job, and stopped in his tracks.

 _The girl in question is half Saiyan. Approach accordingly._

Rafano immediately turned on his heel and marched back to the room, and had his hand on the knob before he reconsidered. A bounty was a bounty. It shouldn't matter if...

 _...the little fingers..._

Dammit. He opened the door.

"Excuse me, but what's this I hear about you being half-Saiyan?" he drawled as he shut the door. Sati had taken off her boots and was sprawled on the bed, but at this she sat up, alarmed.

"What?" she growled. He waved the device at her.

"You have a sizable bounty on your head, young mistress."

Sati grabbed the nearest thing to her and hefted it as though ready to throw. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a dildo. Rafano laughed.

"Relax, missy, I'm just curious about something. Will you promise not to brain me with that if I sit down here?"

With a disgusted look at both the dildo and Rafano, Sati lowered her weapon. Rafano sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Are you really half-Saiyan?" he asked softly. She studied him suspiciously, but eventually nodded. For the first time since she'd met him, Sati saw Rafano hesitate.

"What?" she asked. He looked up from where he'd been staring at his lap, a strange smile on his face.

"So am I," he whispered.

At first Sati sat frozen. Then she frowned deeply.

"You're messing with me," she growled. Rafano slowly shook his head.

"I rather wish I were. My mother was a humble brothel girl, and my father was a Saiyan named Raditz."

"Raditz!" Sati hissed, baring her teeth. "Now I know you're messing with me. How did Rojuku find that out?"

"Find what out? That you're half Saiyan? How should I know?"

"No. My father's name. Even my stepfather doesn't know."

Rafano's breath caught in his throat, and Sati faltered. It wasn't impossible to fake being that shocked, but if he was acting he was first rate. His pupils had even dilated slightly.

"You're saying... that Raditz is your father too?"

Sati gripped the implement in her hand tighter.

"Yes. Are you saying you're...?"

They stared at each other for a long moment, and then Rafano dissolved into hysterical giggles.

"I don't believe it! I almost serviced my own sister! The girls will never let me live it down!"

"I didn't want your services anyway!" Sati roared, incensed by his levity. Amid peals of laughter Rafano got up and picked up the still mostly full bottle of spirits and took a long pull from it. He was shaking so badly he nearly missed the table as he set down the bottle, and Sati realized his laughter had been more from hysteria than amusement.

"So we're... half-siblings?" she said, after Rafano had quieted somewhat. He grunted.

"It seems so."

"That's not... too surprising," Sati said hesitantly, after another silence. "He came here a lot, I guess."

"Oh, it really shouldn't be that surprising," Rafano said, waving a hand unsteadily. "We've got a brother over at the fighting pit on Diamond Street."

It was Sati's turn to laugh.

"Bet I know who it is, too. My casino works with them. It's that guy they call the Savage Saiyan, big red guy, right? Kan?"

"Kon."

"Damn..." Sati breathed, finally dropping the dildo. "Wonder if there's any more of us."

Rafano put a hand to his forehead.

"I don't believe this," he groaned. "Why me?"

"Doesn't change anything, does it?" Sati asked, puzzled. "It's a weird coincidence, but that's all."

"Is that all?" Rafano got up and walked unsteadily towards her, pointing an accusing finger at her as-yet normal-sized belly. "What were you just saying about that being your only family in the universe?"

It truly hadn't occurred to her. She looked from her belly to the man before her, letting the idea trickle through her mind.

"You saying we're family now?"

"Are you saying we aren't?" Rafano countered. They regarded each other warily for a moment, Sati unsure, Rafano grim. Sati lowered her gaze first.

"Be nice to have some family right now, I guess."

Rafano let out a noisy sigh.

"Then we'd better get you off this planet."

She gave him a skeptical glance.

"That seems extreme."

Instead of answering he showed her the bounty, which read Dead or Alive. She swallowed.

"Yeah, sure, off-planet. You got a ship?"

* * *

The small cubby hole that Kon called home was surrounded on all sides by thin walls, noisy neighbors, and the occasional attempt on his life, but it had one chief advantage that made it better than a palace: he didn't have to share it.

Because of this, the dwelling contained more books than it could possibly have otherwise. Several sections of dingy wallpaper had peeled away from the wall from sheer age, and many more had been given some assistance, leaving lots of small nooks between the beams of the wall, all of them crammed with books. Several bags, all full of paperbacks, hung suspended from the ceiling like onions in a cellar, and the thin mattress was held up by several large tomes. The only thing the room contained that wasn't books or bed or Kon himself was a blanket, a single change of clothes, and a large belt, the large shiny metal buckle now tarnished and the words upon it unreadable.

The room itself was part of a barracks system in the back of a large warehouse in need of repair. On the same lot was another warehouse, almost totally empty except for a large stage surrounded by an electric barrier. On fight nights, which was pretty much every night of the week, the warehouse was full of beings all eager to see other beings kick the crap out of each other. The building was on what was officially known as the 37th avenue of the 43rd quadrant in the 16th city of Frieza Planet 69, but most people simply called it Diamond Street. Among beings whose vocabulary was big enough, it was considered to be an ironic name.

The Diamond Pit (so called because it was a fighting pit and it happened to be the only one on Diamond Street) was just big enough to have its own stable of regular fighters, but not quite big enough to house them all. The biggest names got to fight it out amongst themselves as to which sorry room in the warehouse next door would have their name on it. Most fighters had to share their inadequate housing. Kon only got a room to himself because of two things, neither of them because he had duked it out with someone and gotten his pick: first, because he had been there the longest of any of the fighters, and the room wasn't quite desirable enough to be worth trying to dislodge him, and second, because the rest of the fighters knew something about Kon that the rabble that came to see him fight would never guess: Kon threw _all_ of his fights.

Officially, no one threw fights at the Diamond Pit, because beings with money to burn don't like to bet on fights they think are being thrown. And while it was true that Kon hadn't _always_ thrown his fights, it was also true that no one who fought at the Pit these days could remember Kon being legitimately beaten.

It was due to him being half Saiyan, they would tell newcomers. It wasn't just his ring name, it was _true._ He'd once been accidentally impaled, and then almost killed the guy before remembering he was supposed to lose and then pretending ( _only pretending!_ ) to pass out from blood loss. He'd once taken on sixteen fighters at once and had to make it look like some weakling had gotten a lucky punch on him, and _the crowd bought it_. He'd taken on Frieza and survived. He'd taken on Frieza and _won_. He was the real owner of the Pit and just liked fighting so much he pretended it was that old guy Palrey.

"Yeah, and I bet Vegeta was his dad and his mom was that woman who won a championship a couple decades back, because that totally happened too."

Kon, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed reading a book, didn't even twitch as the raucous voices disappeared down the hall. He'd heard all the rumors, and he had a lot of practice ignoring the ambient noise that came with living in crappy, close-quarters dorms. Reading was both an escape and something to pass the time. He hadn't had a fight in three days and the next one wasn't until tomorrow night. Palrey had told him he didn't want to overexpose him, but Kon was perfectly aware that Palrey was trying to phase him out. It was as self-defeating as it was cruel: Saiyans had been a growing part of the rumor mill lately after those strange goings-on concerning Frieza. People loved to see a Saiyan (even someone who didn't quite look like a Saiyan) get a beating, and people who saw what they loved spent more money. But Palrey hated him, and thwarting him was worth more to the bitter old man than the extra money giving him more gigs might bring in. Kon had no choice but to accept it. As Palrey often reminded him, he wasn't good enough to get a spot at one of the better fighting rings. Sure, he could take a punch, but he had no sense of showmanship, and Palrey's establishment was just rough enough around the edges that this defect didn't matter.

There was a knock on the door. Kon almost didn't hear it. When people bothered to knock around here, it was loud and carrying and usually accompanied by shouting. This had been... polite. Puzzled, he carefully inserted a bookmark in his book and got up. Before he could open the door, however, he heard Taru start in on whoever it was outside, his whiny voice needling them for taking up space in the narrow corridor. Kon pulled the door open with a slam, glaring down at Taru. The stocky dark green man froze in the act of reaching for the more feminine of the two cloaked figures.

"These your guests, Kon?" he sneered, but when Kon continued to stare, he muttered rudely to himself and slunk off. Kon turned his gaze to the two figures, both looking around furtively. One of them lifted the hood that hid his face just enough for Kon to see who it was.

"Hey, it's me," Rafano said. "Can we come in?"

Kon waved in his friend, trying to get a look at the other, but she didn't pull back her hood until the door was safely closed.

"Oh, Sati," Kon said, and she startled.

"You know my name?" she asked.

"You're one of the bookies. You and Chible and Nodura."

She blinked at him, taken aback, but she didn't have time to rally before Rafano flung himself down to sit on the bed with a large sigh.

"Oh, my friend, we have had quite a day," he said, looking around with naked interest. "You don't have anything to drink around here, do you?"

Sati swatted his shoulder.

"We don't have time for that, glutton. Kon, we need a ship. You don't know where we could get one, do you?"

Kon studied the two of them. Rafano was wearing his normal brothel clothes under a hastily thrown on bedsheet that he was trying to pass as a cloak. Sati was also wearing her regular clothes under a cloak that was much dingier but also actually a cloak. Both of them had harried, pinched looks on their faces. They were together, when Kon was relatively certain the two of them had never met. They had come here specifically to see him when both of them had loads of other people to whom they could go for help. They needed a ship, not simply transport to another part of the city or even another city entirely.

Conclusion: they were desperate, and the situation was very bad.

"What has happened?" he demanded calmly, folding his arms over his chest. Rafano flopped back onto the bed and groaned, wrapping his sheet tightly around himself. Sati gave him a disgusted look and turned back to Kon.

"Short story: I'm on the run from the prince, and Raf got mixed up with me. He said you were trustworthy, so here we are."

"Hmm," Kon rumbled. "And what is the long story?"

Sati sighed deeply, rubbing her belly absently.

"Don't think we have time for the long story. They might have followed us."

"Sati's carrying Rojuku's child, he wants it dead and she doesn't, also the three of us are siblings."

Raf's voice had been muffled, but carried clearly enough. Sati gaped at him for a moment, then turned to Kon and shrugged helplessly. Kon took all of the wild thoughts and emotions that were trying to leap out at him and stuffed them into the place he put all such things.

"Leaving aside— _for now—_ what you said about being siblings, if they have followed you, there are places to hide here and I will cover for you. As for a ship, I have no idea. Those are expensive and quite outside my expertise."

There was a rustle as Rafano sat up, arranging his bedsheet to somehow look becoming.

"And about being siblings, since that is your next question, I know you and I were both fathered by Raditz because my mother took a special interest in him and told me about you. Sati I just found out about today."

The information flooded through his brain like water, washing away some things and dredging up others. He did not know what to think. He thought of his mother for the first time in years and still did not know what to think. He remembered the photograph that had long since been lost or stolen or destroyed that showed his mother with a large Saiyan man, both of them bruised and missing teeth and smiling. He thought of the rumors of the one woman to ever win a championship, a red Brenchian woman who had fought on occasion with a man named Raditz. He thought of Rafano, who had been so kind to him, and for no reason, letting him use the library at the brothel because it was the only library in the city and never asking for favors in return. He even thought of Sati, strutting around the floor taking bets and giving odds, swatting away groping hands and never cheering even when his defeats made her money.

Kon blinked, and uncrossed his arms.

"I could see about getting us a ship, but I don't know how long it will take."

"Us?" Sati said with a wry smile. Kon nodded.

"Obviously you need protection."

"Damn," Rafano said mildly, sitting back on his hands. "You didn't even have to tell him the story about the little fingers."

Sati shook her head, smiling a bewildered smile. She met Kon's eyes, studying him.

"You sure? We might never come back here. You don't know us—"

"You are my brother and sister, yes?" Kon said. "I do not see how knowing you changes that."

"And he does know us, a little," Rafano piped up. "He knows I'm a fop and you're a slut."

Before Kon could do anything of the sort, Sati had already punched Rafano hard in the meat of his bare bicep. He laughed painfully.

"Yowch, sis! That arm is from my non-Saiyan half."

"Then lemme punch the other one," Sati said, laughing and twisting around, trying to get at Raf, who had scooted farther back on the bed to avoid her playful wrath. Kon relaxed marginally as he realized they were teasing each other.

"If either of you is a slut," he remarked, "it is not our sister, Rafano."

Sati howled with laughter, and Raf grinned, sitting back up. The occupant of the next room banged on the wall, yelling for them to pipe down.

"Sorry," Raf stage whispered to Kon. He shook his head.

"How much money do you have?"

"Eh?"

"For the ship."

Raf sighed noisily, blowing his bangs upward.

"We had to leave pretty fast, and I don't keep much in my accounts. I have maybe 3,000 on me."

"10,000," Sati offered. Kon rumbled thoughtfully.

"I have almost 150,000 all told."

"That is a pretty sum, but not enough to buy us a ship," Rafano pointed out. "At least, I don't think so. I've never exactly tried to purchase a black market ship before."

"It will not be enough for our purposes," Kon agreed. "But I have a fight tomorrow night, and if I do well, I should get at least another 50,000, and with that we have a chance if we bargain well."

"I think I can handle that part," Raf said, brushing aside a lock of hair. Sati's stomach growled loudly, and she grimaced and pressed a hand down on it as though to quiet it. Kon twitched, uncrossing his arms.

"Allow me to get you both something to eat," he said, striding to the door. "Stay here and you should be fine."

He was not even gone long enough for Raf to lay luxuriously down on the bed all the way. He burst back through the door, grabbing the two of them and hoisting them onto his shoulders.

"Change of plans," he said. "Stay still and hang on to me."

Before his newly found siblings could quite react, he powered up and blasted a hole through the roof, singeing more than a few books as he did so. He flew through the hole, aware dimly that Rafano was screeching in his ear. Behind the warehouse was a large golden vehicle capable of interstellar travel. It belonged to Palrey, and it was his pride and joy. Kon felt only the slightest sense of satisfaction at forcing the lock open and dumping his living cargo on the plush seats before jumping behind the driver's seat.

"No freaking way!" Sati screamed, clutching the back of his seat to see out the window. "They already found us?"

"Indeed," Kon said, starting the ignition. "Please sit back. We are about to leave orbit."

"I wasn't prepared for this!" Rafano was wailing, but Kon paid him no mind. The squad of sharply dressed men with blasters that had been searching the barracks forcefully and loudly in the name of Prince Rojuku were already starting to pour out of the hole he'd made in the roof. He jumped the ship into the air, marveling at how responsive the controls were before punching it full speed into space.

"Did you have a destination in mind?" he asked. "I can probably outrun them, but it might be good to lay a false trail even so."

"Earth," Rafano said weakly but with certainty. "It's on the Orion Arm."

"Why there?" Sati asked. "That's pretty far."

"It's where Raditz went before he disappeared."

There was an ominous silence.

"And we're going there why?" Sati demanded.

"Why not? It's out of the way, peaceful, and we might be able to figure out what happened to him while we're there."

"Do we care what happened to him?"

"I am curious," Kon spoke up. "But there is danger of running into whatever made it so he never returned."

"We don't even know if he died on Earth," Rafano pointed out. "That's just where he told my mother he was going. He was planning to wipe it out and then sell it."

"So it's either so dangerous even a Saiyan died there, or it's barren." Sati huffed. Kon could hear her sit back hard in her seat. "Guess they'd never look for us there."

"You did see that Dead or Alive marker on your bounty, right?"

"You have a bounty?" Kon demanded, horrified. "He wants you dead?"

"He wants the kid dead," Sati clarified sullenly. "Guess he doesn't care if I am too."

"How long will it take to get there?" Rafano demanded suddenly. "We didn't bring any food."

"There is likely some in the back," Kon said, aware of his employers habits. "We should get there in about a week."

"A week!" wailed Rafano. "I can't go a week without showering!"

"Shove it!" Sati snarled. "Showering won't matter if there's no food."

Kon heard her rummaging around among the various storage compartments. All told, there were enough snacks and light meals to last them, but only just.

"Who's ship is this, anyway?" Rafano asked through a mouthful of mixed nuts. "This is an awful lot of food to just have in your car."

"Palrey," Kon said, and he heard Sati hum in recognition. "He always talks about taking a road trip in this thing, but he's never done it."

"Well, bless this Palrey and his lack of follow through," Rafano said, the lack of showering facilities apparently not enough to dampen his spirits in the face of food. "And bless him for having such lofty goals. I do believe that is a bottle of Guani 1708 I see over there, sister. Be a dear and hand it to me."

"Absolutely not."

"Killjoy."

"Damn straight. I'm not spending a week in a ship with you drunk. Kon, want some jerky?"

"Yes, please. I'm almost done laying the false trail, and then I'll put in our course in the auto pilot. With luck, we'll have well and truly lost them."

"Third time's the charm, I suppose," Rafano muttered, as Sati reached around Kon's seat and placed a strip of jerky in his mouth.

"What's Earth like, you think?" she wondered out loud.

"As long as they have showers, I don't care."

"The navigation doesn't have much information. Just the coordinates. That means it's been mapped but never claimed."

"Guess our old man didn't manage to strike it rich before he disappeared." Rafano managed to get the bottle away from Sati. She sighed.

"You think he's really dead?" she asked.

"Probably," Raf supplied off-handedly. "It's hard to imagine he'd disappear for no reason."

"You ever meet him?" Sati asked. Raf was silent for a while. Kon breathed as quietly as he could, just as curious to hear the answer as his sister.

"Once," Raf said shortly. "He was... big. Tall. I was pretty small then, but I'm pretty sure he was a huge man."

"What was he like?"

Raf snorted.

"He was a Saiyan, need I say more?"

"Not like I know what Saiyans were really like," Sati countered. "Just the rumors and old stories. They didn't really turn into giant apes, did they?"

"I don't know about that, but he was an unpleasant sort of fellow. He talked big and he was too loud and he kicked me when he saw me."

"Sounds like a Saiyan," Sati said slowly.

"He liked to fight," Kon offered.

"Did you meet him?" Sati asked, surprised.

"No. But my mother told me that he was the most eager fighter she'd ever known. He could be a bit of a coward sometimes, but if the odds were in his favor he always jumped at the chance to have a good brawl."

"Maybe it's a bad time to say this," Sati said, after a lull. "But I always hated knowing I was part Saiyan. I thought maybe... maybe my mother was wrong about who my father was. Maybe she was mistaken. But then they scanned the baby and... turns out she wasn't."

"And maybe this won't be very comforting given the circumstances," Rafano offered kindly, "but just because you have some bad blood in you doesn't mean it has to ruin your whole life. You can be whoever you want to be. Birth doesn't determine your fate. You know what I mean. I meant to say that sort of thing before we had to hightail it off-planet, I hope you understand."

Sati chuckled.

"Sure, I get it. I also see you're drunk."

"And what of it?"

She scolded him and he laughed and Kon smiled, and the ship sailed smoothly through the endless black, carrying them towards a fate only partially determined by circumstances of birth.

* * *

 _A/N: If you liked these characters and want to see more of them, let me know. I have no idea where to take this story, but I know I would like to continue it. Where do you think it would go?_


End file.
